September 11
by kirakirakatsu
Summary: A tribute to all who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  This is what happened to X and Trixie on that day.  Rated for guns, and things to be explained in later fanfics.


**Author's Note:**** Yeah, I know I'm a little late for a 9/11 tribute, but I got this idea from a dream I had on the anniversary and I've been struggling to put it into words ever since (that's only about a week, a short time compared to my recent update habits). The words finally came to me yesterday via pencil and paper during chemistry, Spanish, and world history. But here's the pre-story rundown:**

**X is eight years old (putting him in third grade).**

**Trixie is an airline pilot (that's why she made no appearances in the first season... in my opinion).**

**The story is in X's POV.**

**Kim Jugger (from the original anime) makes an appearance.**

**Trixie=Beatrice.**

**This is a tribute to the victims of 9/11/01, a horrible tragedy that shouldn't have happened. We will always remember you.**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Speed Racer: The Next Generation. Also, I haven't been eight years old since... well, since I was eight years old.  
**_

I was having the best day of my whole life. My dad was back, he'd brought me a puppy _and_ my own car, and my mom promised she wouldn't go on such long business trips anymore. It was great!

Too bad I had to wake up.

Today was a school day, and as I got dressed, I noticed the time. 8:00! School was starting _right now_! There was a field trip today, and _I was going to be late_! Why didn't my uncle wake me up? School should be starting at Racing Academy, too. Uncle Spritle is late, too! The reason Uncle Spritle was here was because he's watching me (I do NOT need a _babysitter_) while my mom was flying a plane from New York to Florida, back to New York, and a flight back to Utah from New York. It was a long trip, a whole two weeks, but my mom loved flying and tried to take vacations from work a lot so she could be with me. Sometimes when she's alone and doesn't know I'm listening, she'll mumble stuff about how she wouldn't have to go work all the time if my dad was here.

But that was beside the point. We were going to the World Racing League Hall of Fame Museum today and (obviously) I _**HAD**_ to go! I'm X _Racer_ for Pete's sake! I hurried to get dressed and brush my teeth. I ran to the kitchen, where my uncle was sitting with a cup of coffee.

"Come _on_! We're gonna be _late_!" I said.

"X, now hold on..." Uncle Spritle started.

"Don't worry about making me breakfast. I'll just—" I was cut off.

"—You're not going to school today. Your mother sent us a radio transmission. Something terrible happened on the east coast early this morning. She doesn't want you going to school today."

"What happened?" I asked. If it was bad enough for _mom_ to want me to miss school, then it must be _really_ bad.

"...Uh...There was a plane crash... They're taking every plane out of the sky for safety reasons..." Was all Spritle would tell me.

Although I didn't know it, my mom was scared. She'd been a passenger _on_ a hijacked plane before –she'd also been shot out of the sky once– but she'd never been _the pilot_ in a crisis like this. She was stressing out, along with her co-pilot, Kim Jugger.

"Don't worry, baby." Kim said.

"Don't call me 'baby'. I told you, I'm married." Mom said. She pushed her short brown hair out of her eyes.

"To a man that left you seven years ago." He said. Yes, Kim was a man. That still wigs me out.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to date someone else while I'm his wife." My mom snapped. She was approaching an emergency landing zone. She was about to inform the passengers when a hand caught hers. Kim Jugger switched on the auto pilot and attempted to pull my mother from her seat, closer to him. He wanted to do bad things to her. He didn't get very far.

_*Slap!*_

"What the _ did I tell you!" My mom screamed. She didn't usually cuss like that (not in front of family members, at least). Kim let go of her. My mom calmed down and was about to inform the passengers before the missed the landing zone when she heard the unmistakable click of a gun. _Oh no,_ she thought, _Oh please no... _She and Kim turned to see a tall man wearing a black suit, sunglasses, and black shoes. He had pale skin and was bald.

"Hello, Beatrice." He sneered.

I would have enjoyed my day off from school with my uncle, but something was gnawing at me. I decided to go watch TV in my mom's bedroom (since Uncle Spritle was watching some cooking show). When I turned on the TV, the news was on. It was saying something about a plane crash in Pennsylvania.

Wait...

If my mom was flying from New York to Utah, then she'd have to pass over Pennsylvania.

What if... what if my mom was on that plane?

I ran to the living room, grabbed my uncle's hand and pulled him towards the door.

"Come _on_! We've gotta go save mom!" I yelled.

"X, what's this about?" He asked.

"Mom's in trouble! I saw it on the news! We've gotta get to Reggie's Sandwich Warehouse and double check!" I yelled. I _had _to know if my mom was in trouble: she was one of the few pieces of my family I had left, and I loved her. _I forgot to tell her that when she left_, I thought. My eyes grew wide. "We gotta go _now_!" Spritle conceded, and we went out to his truck. Spritle drove me to Reggie's, where my friend Stacy worked. She was in college. She was smart, and would tell me if my mom was in trouble or not.

"Hey, little guy. Shouldn't you be in school?" Stacy said. She had her Reggie's shirt on, and her long blonde hair was done up in a ponytail. She had pale skin.

"Mom called. Said I shouldn't go today. If a plane was flying from New York to Utah at eight o'clock this morning then at what time would the plane pass over Pennsylvania?" I asked. Stacy raised an eyebrow at my uncle, then turned back to me.

"She'd be over Pennsylvania about an hour ago. What's this about?" Stacy asked.

"There was a plane crash in Pennsylvania. I think my mom was on that plane!" I said as tears began to form in my eyes.

Back on my mom's plane, the pale man was pointing the gun at my mom.

"...Please..." My mom said, tears forming in her eyes. "...Please, don't shoot... I... I want to see my child... one last time..." She began sobbing, but never broke eye contact with her attacker.

"Oh, _that's_ right. You're Trixie _Racer_. I _enjoyed_ killing your son." The man sneered.

"...No..." My mom whispered. Kim put one arm in front of my mom. The bald man was about to pull the trigger when suddenly, his eyes went wide and his hands started trembling. He dropped the gun. The veins in his eyes burst, and blood streaked down his face. He opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was a strangled, gasping sound. It was all he could do to drag himself out of the cockpit, to the airplane's door, and jump out. He pulled the parachute chord just before he lost consciousness. My mom struggled to close the plane's door, ignoring the screams of the panicked passengers.

"... Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Please fasten your seatbelts. We're going to perform an emergency landing." My mom took the plane down.

Five days later, I got to see my mom again, at the airport. Security was tighter than ever now. I still didn't know the full extent of what had happened, but I'd heard bits and pieces from school.

Two planes were hijacked and flown into the Twin Towers in New York City. A third plane had crashed into the Pentagon. The plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania hadn't been my mom's, but no one had survived the crash. The passengers had risen up against the terrorists, and the plane was driven into the ground. It had been aiming for the White House. My mom never told me about the man who had attacked her on the plane. She did tell the police, and I overheard their conversation.

"Mommy!" I screamed as I saw her walking towards me in the airport.

"X!" I ran to my mom, and hugged her. She bent down to meet me.

"_I love you_." I whispered in her ear. We both started crying, mourning the loss of all the people who had died in the attacks.

"I love you, too, sweetie." She said. I pulled out of her hug, and pulled a single white rose from my pocket.

"Here... For you..." I said.

"Oh, X, it's beautiful." She said.

"...I love you..." I said. "Happy birthday, mom."  
_

**Author's Note****: Yeah... the ending's kinda abrupt... but effective... right? Please leave a review on your way out. Not for me, I don't want your opinions on this story. Leave a tribute to the victims of 9/11/01.**

_**We shall never forget**_


End file.
